Sinn Féin - On Your Side

Uneven-development hindering job creation - Quinlivan

Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Maurice Quinlivan TD has said he is concerned at the lack of coordinated thinking from Minister Mitchell O’Connor’s office around the importance of the national spatial strategy to the issue of job creation. Speaking during Minister’s questions in the Dáil, Deputy Quinlivan said:

“Brexit is a game changer which has made the need for an innovative National development strategy all the more urgent.

“I am concerned that the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation do not appear to be prioritising this issue or to realise its significance.

“We have a major problem in this country that must be addressed if we are to make genuine progress on the jobs front - and this is the issue of regional inequality.

“What we have is the untrammelled over development of the greater Dublin region at the expense of the rest of the country.

“Regional underdevelopment did not happen by chance – it resulted from a conscious approach to economic policy that prioritised the growth of Dublin, at the expense of the rest of the country.

“In broader societal terms it is not acceptable to follow this failed economic model.

“Announcing 20 or 30 jobs here and there will do nothing to deal with the enormous issues faced by the large urban centres of Cork, Limerick, and Waterford; it will do nothing for the South-East; or for Sligo, Mayo, Donegal and the border region.

“These areas have high levels of unemployment; a huge deficit when it comes to infrastructure, poor access to public transport networks, and limited opportunities for young people to access training and apprentice schemes.

“The Department of Jobs should be proactive and take an all-Island approach to the issue of regional development within the context of the National Spatial Strategy.

“We urgently need investment in infrastructure and capital projects if we are to achieve any semblance of balanced and sustainable regional development.

“Sustainable job creation requires an integrated approach - one that looks at housing, infrastructure, public services and economic growth in a holistic manner”.

“Brexit gives us an opportunity to prioritise the growth of indigenous companies and achance to finally deal with the issue of regional inequality in all its manifestations”.